At least 40 people on board a SpiceJet flight from Mumbai to Durgapur in West Bengal Sunday suffered injuries, with 12 of them being seriously hurt
The Boeing 737-800 plane encountered severe turbulence during its descent. India’s aviation safety regulator — the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) — has deployed a multi-disciplinary team to carry out a regulatory investigation into the incident.
A SpiceJet flight operating Sunday evening from Mumbai to Durgapur in West Bengal underwent severe turbulence that resulted in mild to serious injuries to at least 12 passengers onboard the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, according to DGCA officials.
The aircraft took off from Mumbai a few minutes after 5 pm on Sunday and was on its approach to Durgapur’s Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport after a two-hour flight when it encountered severe turbulence that caused the passenger injuries.
The 189-seater aircraft, however, landed safely at Durgapur at 7.15 pm, following which the injured passengers were provided medical attention. It was not just the passengers but also some cabin crew members who suffered injuries. These people received head and spinal injuries.
Authorities at the Andal hospital have said that the condition of the 12 passengers is critical but they are out of danger.
The flight was about to land when it began hobbling and the cabin baggage fell on passengers in the midst of a massive turbulence due to extreme bad weather. A probe is currently underway to ascertain how the plane got caught in a storm.